Psycho.Therapy.

So….today was my first day of Dr. Prescribed PsychTherapy and I told everyone I’d share. So here’s the update-

The Dr. is my age. He’s very laid back, he surfs; I like him. What he asked me to do on out first visit was to think about…..shit. I guess I should explain how I got here. My bad.

I have hypertension (high blood pressure), it’s a genetic thing. Well, my Internal Med doctor believes it’s being exacerbated by stress. So she asked me to go to mental health to discover what’s behind the stress. In order to be a good little Sailor and carry favor with my Dr., I’m being compliant. Add the mood swings I’ve been having and maybe it’s not a bad idea, so what the hell.

Ok, so I’m being seen. Here’s the recap. We spent the first 20 minutes discussing all the survival shows on hist/disc/natgeo..etc. lol. I’m wish I were joking. We talked about Rudy Reyes and Dr. Jadick (Doc wrote a book about his time as the 1/8 Marine Battalion Surgeon in Iraq). He finally realized we were WAAAAAY off track and we got down to business. Honestly, it was like 2 guys chatting in a bar. He asked me if I knew what could be the underlying factor to the stress. And I do….

I’m burnt out on the Navy.

We discussed this for a moment and he said it’s a valid reason. Look, I’m not angry with the Navy, I’m actually blessed. I got everything I asked the Navy for- travel, fun, education (though that’s debatable), giiiirls, and experiences I’d never get to have as a civilian. I didn’t ask for money, rank, or power. That’s when doc chimed in and dropped this lil’ nugget of wisdom.

“If you’ve accomplished everything you set out for in the Navy, it’s understandable that since you’re a goal oriented indiviual your current goal is to retire. This is being threatened by things beyond your control and likey a powerful aggitator to you.”

Yeah. Dudes good. I really don’t see myself seeing him too long, but it’s interesting considering I’ve always had a thing for psychology. So what did we learn today:

– I’m burnt out on the Navy

– I’m predisposed to high blood pressure and my current goal is to finish my time in the Navy. That goal was being threatened and exacerbating my hypertension.

Hope you found this as enlightning as I did. Anyone wanna give a hug and sloppy kiss now? Smh. And somebody please find my skittles and pez. DANNY WANTS PEZ!!!!!!

You will get through this HM1. Wish I had one of the old WestPac “short timer” calendars to give you as encouragement. Picture of a nude gal with a couple of hundred numbered squares on her bod that the kids would mark off one day at a time. You of all people can guess where the day 1 square was located.

Humans were never designed to handle long term stressors over things out of our control. We’re good at fighting, running for our lives, things like that, but not good at dealing with abstract stressors.

The reason your blood pressure is rising is because your body is prepping you to fight or run. It increases the blood pressure to your muscles and decreases it from your extremities. Dealing with cold or clammy hands? That might be why.

It’s good to hear you have something to help you, but you should probably also try running, fighting, other things to get that stress down. Your body is prepping for some intense activity so give it to it! (within reason, you don’t want a cardiac arrest).

Deep breathing can really work. I work with people who have chronic pain and I’ve seen some master their pain through just breathing. It’s insane and takes skill, but it’s doable.

LOVE the Ramones. One of my top 5 bands of all time. Kinda sad that they didn’t really get over until years after they retired, and after most of the original lineup had passed away. Some art just isn’t appreciated in its time I guess.